Legion: The Legend of Excalibur

It's safe to say that nothing like Legion currently exists on the PlayStation 2. That's not to say there aren't any hack and slash games, or any medievel games, or any squad-based games. It's not to say there aren't games that have elements of Legion in them. It's just that Legion is in a category by itself, simply because it's an amalgamation of so many things. It's an action game at its heart, with a healthy dose of combat: plenty of swordplay and huge battle scenarios make for a thrilling and challenging action bonanza. But it's also part strategy game. And part RPG. And all adventure.

As you might imagine, with a name like The Legend of Excalibur, Legion is based on Arthurian tales of swords and sorcery. If you don't know the Knights of the Round table by now, either you slept through English class your whole life or barely ever made it to the multiplex. Anyway, the gang is all here: Arthur, Lancelot, Merlin, Gwenevere, and all the rest, and the story revolves around Arthur's recruitment of the knights to the round table. It's a cool concept, and is put into motion effectively.

This central premise makes for the RPG-esque element of gameplay. Not only can you grow Arthur's skills and abilities, but you can add members to your party. Once a knight joins your ranks, you will enjoy his services in your party from then on. In battle, you can switch between the fighters, give orders and attack on different fronts. This is the strategy element of the game, and you won't be able to survive without it.

The story is woven through the experience nicelty. At times it's mildly humorous, at times heroic and noble, as you'd expect. There's nothing dazzling about it, but there doesn't have to be. The story is a bit of history on which to hang a very playable game. Legion benefits from the immediate recognition of characters, and doesn't disappoint in offering up all the crowd favorites.

When it was announced, I wasn't sure what to make of this game. But 7 Studios and Midway, after going through several iterations of what the game should be, settled on a good mix. It's not the perfect game, but it's got the almighty "fun" factor, and that's what matters.

Gameplay Legion plays a lot like Diablo, or even Midway's own Gauntlet. The meaty part of each mission is running around and killing enemy soldiers, bandits and the like, protecting your subjects and rousing an army of like-minded knights to your cause. There's a lot of hacking and slashing, and a lot of killing. Your skill with a sword will be tested. Instead of charging willy-nilly into combat swinging your blade quickly, the game encourages a rhythmic attack. Getting good at this makes your warrior a lot deadlier, and makes fighting more fun (and more challenging) than a point and slash game like Diablo or Dungeon Siege. There is skill involved in swordplay, and that makes a big difference.

You'll also have to be good with a shield. Legion does not allow you to charge through the game unscathed. If you don't use your shield, or charge into a mismatch, Arthur will be biting the dust. I liked this more realistic approach to fighting. Since you can't carry a satchel full of potions and quaff them at will, you have to be smart about preserving your life and fight with caution. The fighting controls are tight and responsive. Everything is intuitive and easy to pick up. Within seconds of arriving on the scene, you'll be fighting up a storm.

Fighting in general is about positioning and strategy. The game makes you approach situations in a rational manner. It urges you to take on one soldier at a time, not get cornered, and retreat when necessary. And it punishes you if you're stupid about your battle plan. As you fight, you'll join up with folks on your own side, and they'll help you take down the enemy. Using these warriors to your advantage is the key to a successful campaign, and again, adds a lot to the experience. There's nothing cooler than the first time you rendezvous with a throng of your own men and you all forge ahead into battle together. The large-scale fights with swords swinging and arrows winging by the best part of this game.

You'll need a good squad of heroes, because the enemy AI is quite good. As you begin to wear down even the lowliest of opponents, he will retreat and regroup when he gets low on health. Enemies will always try to attack from distance first, and try to stick together as much as possible. They're good about blocking (sometimes too good), and excellent at luring you into situations that are hard to handle. The only problem I encountered with enemy AI is sometimes when an opponent is attacking another member of your group, you can walk up behind and slash at him until he falls, and he never turns around. But, for the most part, enemies act smarter in combat than the mindless denizens of Gauntlet or Dungeon Siege, making this a much more tactical crawl.

As you progress through the game, you'll accumulate experience, which will level your character up. Levelling up will replenish your health and grant you more skill in combat. They didn't go too hog-wild with the RPG element, so leveling means little more than you are stronger and quicker. But it sure is handy in the midst of combat to hear the bugle sound and get a fresh, new health bar. And character building aficianados will be pleased. You can also accumulate different gear, either by finding it hidden in the level or purchasing it at the treasury. Like any dungeon hack worth its salt, there are plenty of magic items and enhancements to be had, and finding the best ones is half the fun.

In addition to adding experience and gear, you'll add members to your party. When you finish the leg of a quest that features a player in the Arthurian universe (Gwenevere, Lancelot, Galahad and the lot), he/she will become a member of the royal crime force. When you head to your next mission, you'll be able to call on new blood in order to put the enemy in his grave. You can only have three active party members at a time, so part of the strategy of the game is calling on the right threesome to do the job. Another strategic element, this mix-and-match knight shuffle is one of the more enjoyable parts of the game.

Once you pick up warriors, you manage them in combat, or switch back and forth between them. This provides your party with strategy and you, as a gamer, with variety and fun. The commands and switching are all handled on the shoulder buttons, a system which works quite well. To make another member of your party defend a spot, or come to your aid or retreat (if gravely injured), just press the character's corresponding button, then rock and roll. The menu system is a little clunky in the midst of heavy combat, but I don't know how it could have been handled differently while keeping the game flowing.

I like the character swapping system for lots of reasons. For one, it allows you to fight on multiple fronts at the same time, making tactics a key element of gameplay. Secondly, mixing up your party allows for a variety of styles. If you're sick of hacking away in the trenches, switch to Gwenevere and her bow and targets enemies from a distance. Or bust out some magic. Allowing for variation on the fly is key to a textured gaming experience.

However, the squad-based system isn't flawless. If you get too separated from the main contingent, there can be issues with certain orders being carried out. Alsom, several times when attempting to control another player, I kept getting zapped back to Arthur, with no more explanation than "Follow me." These things were annoying, but didn't happen enough to truly hamper the experience.

One thing that is ennervating is that there are no save points midway through missions. Some of these campaigns can be quite long, and if you fail near the end, there is a lot of level to replay in order to get back to where you were. True, this adds game time, which could be construed as replay value, but it can be a fun-killer to play through the same level repeatedly just to find out what's around the next corner.

The missions are all quite similar as well, which may irk those looking for a more varied experience. The general mission structure is find some thugs, beat them down, and collect praise from the townspeople. I don't have a problem with this style of gameplay. I'll happily plod and slay through hours and hours of villains. The multiple characters and strategy elements help to make it fresher, but the fact remains that the primary activity in the game is swinging at something with a sword.

Another thing the game is missing is a two-player experience. What's most fun about these kinds of games is hacking down the enemy with a flesh and blood buddy at your side. While it's fun to control all the knights in your party, it would be even better if you could share the adventure with a friend. Still, the game is fresh enough and intense enough to be a lot of fun, and that's what matters in the end.

Graphics Alright, I'm a sucker for the load screen progress bar. As the bar loads, it looks like a slow-burning fuse. That's a cool graphical touch, as are the multiple FMV sequences throughout the game. These are very cinematic and well-animated across the board.

As for the graphics in the regular game, they are decent, but nothing special. Most of the time, the camera lingers at long distance, so you don't get a close look at much of anything. About the most impressive graphical element is Arthur's cape, which whips and flows fluidly throughout. It's the little things. The character models have a bold, cartoony look that works, but the enemy models could have been better. A lot of them look very similar. Animations are pretty decent across the board, and there are some cool touches, like chopped-off heads and limbs, and a sinking-to-my-knees death animation.

As for the environments, they are vast and varied, but the textures that decorate them are not as lush and detailed as some of the things we've seen on the system.

The camera is pretty detatched from the action, although it's possible to zoom a tad and see a more overhead view by tweaking the right thumbstick. It would have been nice to get a little tighter on the action and see some of the detail of the fighters trading blows, but then again, it might have exposed texture flaws. Luckily, the camera avoids a lot of trouble because of transparent walls. If your character goes behind a solid object, it will become transluscent, allowing you to easily see where you're going.

Ultimately, the graphics are not what this game is about. They're done well enough so they don't get in the way, but they don't dazzle.

Sound If you're annoyed by persistent, repetetive noises, Legion will have you reaching for the volume button on your remote faster than you can say "Monty Python." While there's nothing wrong with the sound effects, the random character utterances, grunts and calls to arms grate on you as the experience wears on. At first I thought Arthur's constant reminders to "Follow me" were as annoying as the game was going to get. But I was wrong. As soon as I got a bunched-up group of soldiers tailing me and heard their shrill screams interacting with one another, going in and out of phase, I was wishing that opposing armies only drafted mutes.

The sounds of battle are well-rendered: the clanging of sword against shield, the zinging of arrows. But these, too, can wear on you the more you hear them. The soundtrack is appropriately cinematic and regal, and works well to set a knightly mood. It doesn't get old like the sound effects, either.

Since this game is mission-based, you get a lot of your information from townsfolk. The voicings are decent, even though some of the actors have varying accents (think Kevin Costner in Robin Hood). Even so, the voice actors convey emotion well, and even manage to be humorous from time to time.

The Verdict

In the end, Legion is a solid game that is worth playing through once. It may lose its steam after that, but it's a fun mix of action, strategy and RPG. Fans of Gauntlet, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and Diablo might want to give it a look.